A London synagogue is calling on police to “thoroughly investigate” after a rock was thrown through the window at the Jewish house of worship.
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A London synagogue is calling on police to “thoroughly investigate” after a rock was thrown through the window at the Jewish house of worship.
Beth Tefilah, an orthodox synagogue at 1210 Adelaide St., denounced the recent act of vandalism and urged police to hold the culprits responsible.
“This attack on a place of worship is deeply troubling and an affront to the Canadian values of respect and community,” Beth Tefilah officials said in a statement Friday.
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“This incident is not isolated; it follows a disturbing trend of rising anti-Semitism and vandalism against synagogues across Canada. Such acts of hate and intolerance have no place in our society.”
London police were aware of the incident and had launched an investigation, a police spokesperson said.
“It’s in the very early stages,” acting Sgt. Sandasha Bough said when asked whether it’s being investigated as a possible hate-motivated crime.
Beth Tefilah Rabbi Eliezer Gurkow declined comment Friday.
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The vandalism at the synagogue comes less than a week after an alleged hate-motivated arson at a northwest London home that drew condemnation from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Emergency crews responded Saturday around 10:40 p.m. to a fire at a house on Wateroak Drive, northeast of Fanshawe Park and Hyde Park roads, where signs supporting Palestine and the Afzaal family had been stolen and vandalized one hour earlier and on several other occasions dating back to early May, police said.
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Investigators are treating the arson as a possible hate-motivated crime and believe the same suspect who set the fire stole the signs. Police released a photo of the suspect – a white man between 30 and 50, with a medium to heavy build – but no arrests had been made in the case as of Friday.
Hate crimes jumped by nearly 40 per cent in London last year, with the Israel-Hamas war cited as a contributing factor, according to a recent report to the city’s police board.
Members of the Jewish community were the fourth-most targeted group, with 26 occurrences – a figure that includes both hate crimes and incidents that are hate-motivated but aren’t considered criminal offences – reported last year. Half of those incidents happened after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, statistics show.
“It is crucial that we stand united against hate and work towards fostering a community where everyone feels safe and respected,” Beth Tefilah officials said.
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